White Oak Veterinary Clinic

White Oak Veterinary Clinic Choosing White Oak Veterinary Clinic is your first step to herd health. We have 3 veterinarians.

Avian influenza has not been found on PA dairies, but this is the second time recently that it has been found in poultry...
02/04/2025

Avian influenza has not been found on PA dairies, but this is the second time recently that it has been found in poultry in the state. This is the strain that has been transmitted by wild geese in the Eastern Fly-way Zones, NOT the strain that has been infecting cattle, but under the Department of Agriculture control plan, it still has implications for the dairies nearby.

There is no restriction on milk shipping but farms in the designated infected zone are required to submit weekly bulk tank samples and must have a federal premise ID.

It seems very likely that sooner or later, this could happen in western PA. Now is the time to get prepared. Do you know your premise ID? We have biosecurity plan booklets and can help you create a plan. Or you can attend a workshop. Follow the links or give us a call to get started.

On February 2, the PA Department of Agriculture reported another preliminary H5, 2.3.4.4 result in a commercial layer poultry flock in Dauphin County, Lower Swatara Township, and a small mixed non-poultry backyard flock in Adams County. Samples will be sent to NVSL for confirmation. The layer flock...

Long-term planning can be a big challenge for a farm enterprise, especially when pricing is uncertain and generational t...
01/27/2025

Long-term planning can be a big challenge for a farm enterprise, especially when pricing is uncertain and generational transition is involved. The Center for Dairy Excellence has resources to help!

Pennsylvania farmers, now’s the time to plan for success! The Farm Vitality Grant is designed to help you enhance your farm’s long-term viability through strategic planning, succession, and transition projects.

✅ Covers up to $7,500 in eligible planning costs
✅ Open to Pennsylvania farm families and businesses
✅ Focused on business planning, financial management, and preparing for the next generation
💻 Visit https://buff.ly/4gbPcc6 to learn more and submit your application!

Who's been cold these last couple of days? Hopefully not your calves. But if your littlest bovines need a little extra p...
01/22/2025

Who's been cold these last couple of days? Hopefully not your calves. But if your littlest bovines need a little extra protection against the weather, we have calf jackets! Stop by the clinic and pick some up today. They come in size Jersey and size Holstein.

Well worth reading. This article contains experiences and insights about avian influenza in dairy herds in California. I...
01/09/2025

Well worth reading. This article contains experiences and insights about avian influenza in dairy herds in California. It has been very different from the initial outbreak in Texas.

If you don't have a biosecurity plan in place yet, ask us about it. It's time.

Any existing herd health problems are amplified by HPAI H5N1, practitioners report. Some are asking regulatory agencies for more consistent testing and reporting protocols. They are also encouraging producers to invest dollars in better nutrition and cow comfort resources.

We will be closing at noon today and will be back open at 7:30 Thursday. Someone will be on call for any emergencies ove...
12/24/2024

We will be closing at noon today and will be back open at 7:30 Thursday. Someone will be on call for any emergencies over the holiday. Merry Christmas to our clients from everyone at White Oak!

Happy Thanksgiving!As you sit down after a bountiful meal and before you slip off into a turkey-induced food coma, take ...
11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving!

As you sit down after a bountiful meal and before you slip off into a turkey-induced food coma, take a minute to be thankful for the safety of our food supply.

The New World Screwworm is a devastating parasite of livestock and can even infect humans. It can cause tissue damage that is extensive enough to cause death.

According to USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), NWS was eradicated from the US in 1966 by introducing sterile male flies, and this same technique has been used by USDA in collaboration with Panama to create a buffer zone and keep the flies south of it.

This past week, Mexico announced a single case of NWS found in Chiapas, its southernmost state. You may not know it but according to Drovers, over the last 25 years, the US has imported an average of 1.15 million feeder cattle from Mexico. Imports from Mexico have been temporarily suspended, probably for a few weeks (bad news or good news, depending whether you're buying or selling, I guess).

On the positive side, even though the NWS boundary was breached, the system worked. This cow was discovered during routine inspection at a checkpoint close to the border with Guatemala. That is the goal of surveillance.

We are certainly grateful to all of you who work to produce our food and ensure its safety. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

U.S. and Mexican officials are working together on pre-export inspection protocols before resuming live cattle imports into the U.S. The use of sterile flies is also a priority to help control the spread of NWS in Mexico.

Check out this article about the beneficial effects of lidocaine-infused castration bands. By the end of the 42 day stud...
11/28/2024

Check out this article about the beneficial effects of lidocaine-infused castration bands. By the end of the 42 day study, calves castrated with lidocaine-infused bands averaged three pounds heavier bodyweight than the group castrated with conventional castration bands. They also showed increased lying time and better appetite. We have Lidobands! Ask for them.

A recent study at Kansas State University highlights some of the benefits.

It's happening...
11/16/2024

It's happening...

Since we've moved, we have some extra space to rent. Please see attached brochure for details.Feel free to share.Daniel...
11/15/2024

Since we've moved, we have some extra space to rent. Please see attached brochure for details.

Feel free to share.

Daniel Zawisza Bill Croushore Sheila Croushore

One of the perks of having a job where you spend a lot of time on the road is that you get to see some pretty neat thing...
11/05/2024

One of the perks of having a job where you spend a lot of time on the road is that you get to see some pretty neat things. It seemed appropriate for election day to share this bald eagle I saw last week.

I tried to edit out the roadkill raccoon that our majestic national bird is eating, but trust me when I say that an eagle with no legs looks even worse than an eagle eating roadkill. Not pretty but it is what it is.

Go vote.

An Intensive Biosecurity Workshop for beef producers is coming up December 10 in Sipesville.Check out the information fr...
11/01/2024

An Intensive Biosecurity Workshop for beef producers is coming up December 10 in Sipesville.

Check out the information from a recent workshop and then follow the link to register for the Somerset County session.

USDA will begin testing bulk milk for avian influenza next month.This is in response to the rapid spread of the virus in...
10/31/2024

USDA will begin testing bulk milk for avian influenza next month.

This is in response to the rapid spread of the virus in California dairy herds, concerns that mixing bird flu and seasonal influenza could lead to mutations and increased transmission in people, and the depopulation of 17.6 million commercial poultry birds after flocks tested positive for bovine variant avian influenza.

Congratulations to Dr. Welch, who continues to be recognized for the outstanding work he has done in our profession. The...
09/14/2024

Congratulations to Dr. Welch, who continues to be recognized for the outstanding work he has done in our profession.

The text reads:

Zoetis Distinguished Service Award

American Association of Bovine Practitioners
Presents to Dr. David C. Welch

"In appreciation for your many years of continued service promoting the goals of the AABP and providing an excellent role model for those who serve bovine agriculture through organized veterinary medicine."

An accolade well deserved!

Congratulations to John Burket on being elected president of Holstein Association USA!!
09/12/2024

Congratulations to John Burket on being elected president of Holstein Association USA!!

A third-generation dairy farmer from Blair County, Pennsylvania, was recently elected to lead the Holstein Association USA.

Address

236 Highpoint Drive
Somerset, PA
15501

Opening Hours

Monday 7:30am - 4pm
Tuesday 7:30am - 4pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 4pm
Thursday 7:30am - 4pm
Friday 7:30am - 4pm

Telephone

+18142674411

Website

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Videos

Fetal sexing of a bull
Fetal sexing of a bull

The last in the series of ultrasound posts was an intro to fetal sexing for bull calves. Here is a video showing what that looks like in real time. In veterinary medicine, it is important to be consistent, so we work at doing things the same way every time. For fetal sexing, the key is to identify landmarks and move the ultrasound probe slowly to scan the region behind the umbilical cord (bull) and the region under the tail (heifer) for the genital tubercle. To orient you, the head is to the right and the video sweeps to the left, showing the front legs, the trunk, and the umbilical cord. To make it easier to identify, the video will freeze for a few seconds and an arrow will briefly identify the genital tubercle. It shows up as a bright white structure and you can watch it as it disappears and reappears in the image during the rest of the video. We start fetal sexing at 56 days of gestation and this fetus is probably a few days longer than that.

If you've been following the ultrasound videos, the calf that we've been watching grow from a January 1st breeding is now about 50 days old. The possibility of a spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) never disappears and we expect about a 10% rate of early embryonic death on the short breeding pregnancies we find. Nevertheless, the risk of embryonic death becomes lower as the gestation length increases. So we like to recheck the pregnancies we've diagnosed again after 40 days gestation. This video shows a fetus with its head down. At the top of the image is a combination of the back legs and rump, and the line jutting off to the left is a front leg. If you look closely at the center of the fetus, you can see the flicker that we were able to identify last week as a fetal heartbeat. An important part of the pregnancy recheck exam is checking the viability of the fetus with a strong heartbeat and making sure that it appears to be growing and developing normally.

We just passed Valentine's Day and what better way to note it than with a heart? More specifically, a calf's heart. In this video, the calf is to the left of the screen and if you look at it closely, you can see a consistent flutter. That is a tiny heart beating. This calf is probably 35-40 days of gestation and the fetal heartbeat is a good indicator of viability.

One of the benefits of ultrasound pregnancy diagnosis is that it makes it easier to detect multiple pregnancies. In most cases that means twins, but we were lucky enough to capture this footage of a triplet pregnancy. The first two fetuses are laying next to each other in the right horn. Then the video sweeps over to the left horn to the third fetus laying by itself. I recently heard a triplet pregnancy referred to as a pair and a spare. I guess it fits.

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